MULTIMEDIA Development Corp (MDeC) has encouraged Malaysia to embrace “Big Data Analytics” (BDA) by initiating the open government data set in its framework.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood said the initiative was part of MDeC’s mandate as custodian of the country’s information and communications technology (ICT) agenda, which includes boosting investments into the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) as well as ensuring that the country fully leveraged ICT to increase the business competitiveness and social economic development of the people.
She said open data, especially open government data, was a largely untapped resource that, when combined with BDA, could benefit the society, economy and the government.
“In Malaysia, there is an opportunity for us to leverage on this valuable resource and use it to address national issues and societal well-being.
“Open government data are made available to the public in a format that increases transparency and accountability.
“It enables third parties to leverage on the potential of government data through the development of applications and services that address public and private demands.
“Open government data are a foundation that can drive innovation from both the public and private sectors,” she said at a conference on BDA, here, yesterday.
In conjunction with the conference, MDeC, in collaboration with Tentspark Sdn Bhd, an information technology consultancy and solution provider, announced the winners of the National Big App Challenge 1.0 competition, which started in September and ran for two months.
The competition showcased the importance of BDA while highlighting local talent.
Aside from open government data, Yasmin said other initiatives in the MDeC framework included two other focus areas — talent development to ensure Malaysia has the quantity and calibre of talent and the creation of private-public partnerships.
BDA is data licensed for use by anyone for any purpose and at no cost.
According to Yasmin, it is the new commodity of the knowledge economy, and is especially important for Malaysia.
“We already have pockets of companies and experts in BDA, including those MSC companies that are global leaders in providing global solutions, as well as local institutions with investment in BDA. But we need to do a lot more to make sure it goes beyond rhetoric,” said Yasmin.
BDA was proposed to be one of the key areas in the 11th Malaysia Plan and fully endorsed by the government at the recent MSC council meeting.